Calling on South Sudanese authorities to release Peter Biar Ajak or charge him with a recognizable criminal offence in accordance with international law and standards.

Calling on South Sudanese authorities to ensure that Peter Biar Ajak is not subjected to torture or other illtreatment while in detention.

Calling on them to ensure Peter Biar Ajak is granted regular access to his family, any healthcare he may require and a lawyer of his choice.

Urging them to comply with their obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), particularly the obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to freedom of association and expression.

Responding to the imposition of an arms embargo on South Sudan by the UN Security Council, Seif Magango, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said:

“The UN Security Council’s much-anticipated vote to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan is a step in the right direction towards minimizing harm to civilians in the war-torn nation. This decision is long overdue and critically needed to cut off the flow of weapons into the country.”

“Every day civilians are butchered using lethal arms in full view of the world. All states, especially South Sudan’s neighbours, must now strictly enforce the arms embargo and play their part in silencing the guns. The UN Security Council must also learn from past mistakes and implement robust mechanisms to monitor and enforce strict compliance with the embargo.”

Ahead of a critical vote at the UN Security Council on Saturday that will consider the restructuring and downsizing of the joint African Union-United Nations mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Amnesty International is releasing exclusive satellite and photo images showing extensive damage caused by ongoing attacks on villages in the region.

The images show at least 18 villages in the eastern parts of the Jebel Marra area of Darfur were burnt by government and allied militia forces over the past three months. These images corroborate witness accounts, earlier collected by Amnesty International, from at least 13 affected villages.

“The UN Security Council must not and cannot abandon the people of Darfur by downsizing UNAMID, their only source of security and safety,” said Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

“For hundreds of thousands of displaced Darfuris, the ongoing looting and burning of their homes makes the prospect of returning to their villages unthinkable.”

Between March and May 2018, government forces and pro-government militias, especially the Rapid Support Force, attacked and burned villages in south-east Jebel Marra during military operations against the Sudan Liberation Army Al-Waahid (SLA/AW).

Between 12,000 and 20,000 people were displaced as a result of these attacks and are currently living in caves in the Jebel Marra Mountains in extreme hardship and with no access to humanitarian assistance.

“The Sudanese government has clearly failed to protect its own citizens, and this must not be allowed to continue. On its part, the UN Security Council must continue the mandate of UNAMID to protect and safeguard the lives and human rights of the people of Darfur,” said Joan Nyanyuki.

More than 1.5 million displaced people in the Darfur region of Sudan are unable to return home, 15 years after the start of the conflict.

Calling on the Sudanese authorities to release Husham Ali Mohammad Ali immediately and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.

Urging them to ensure that Husham Ali Mohammad Ali is granted regular access to his family and a lawyer of his choice without delay, pending his release.

Urging them to ensure that pending his release, he is protected from torture and other ill-treatment.

Calling on them to ensure that he is receiving proper medical treatment.

As the UN Security Council meets today to review measures aimed at bringing long-overdue peace and stability to South Sudan, Amnesty International is reiterating its longstanding call for the imposition of a comprehensive arms embargo to cut off the supply of weapons being used to kill, maim and destroy the lives of the South Sudanese people.

The people of South Sudan have suffered gross human rights violations and the world has done very little to end them. The UN Security Council must step up and take a leadership role in ending these atrocities by stopping the flow of arms into South Sudan.

“The people of South Sudan have suffered gross human rights violations and war crimes for more than four years now and the world has done very little to end them. The UN Security Council must step up and take a leadership role in ending these atrocities by stopping the flow of arms into South Sudan,” said Seif Magango, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

Amnesty International urges the Security Council and the international community, including manufacturers and suppliers of arms, to take decisive steps to end the mass atrocity crimes in South Sudan by drying up its supply of weapons.

We are asking all nations to show that they stand with civilians in South Sudan and stop selling or allowing arms destined for the country to be trafficked through their territories.

Seif Magango, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

“We are asking all nations to show that they stand with civilians in South Sudan and stop selling or allowing arms destined for the country to be trafficked through their territories,” said Seif Magango.

Today’s decision by a Sudanese court to quash Noura Hussein’s death sentence and replace it with a five-year prison term for killing her husband in self-defence during an attempted rape must be a catalyst for a legal review in Sudan, said Amnesty International.

Noura Hussein was sentenced to death on 10 May 2018. Her husband, Abdulrahman Mohamed Hammad, suffered fatal knife wounds during a scuffle at their home after he had attempted to force himself on her with the help of three other men. The revised sentence means she will spend five years in jail from the date of her arrest and will have to make a dia (blood money) payment of 337,500 Sudanese pounds (around US$8,400).

“While the quashing of this death sentence is hugely welcome news, it must now lead to a legal review to ensure that Noura Hussein is the last person to go through this ordeal,” said Seif Magango, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

Noura Hussein was the victim of a brutal attack by her husband and five years’ imprisonment for acting in self-defence is a disproportionate punishment.

“The Sudanese authorities must take this opportunity to start reforming the laws around child marriage, forced marriage and marital rape, so that victims are not the ones who are penalized.”

Background

Noura Hussein has been held in the Omdurman Women’s Prison in Sudan since May 2017.

After fatally stabbing her husband on 3 May 2017, Noura Hussein fled to her family home, but her father handed her over to the police, who opened a case against her. A medical examination report from the fight with her husband indicated she had sustained injuries including a bite and scratches.

At her trial in July 2017, the judge applied an outdated law which did not recognize marital rape. Noura Hussein was charged under the Criminal Act (1991) and found guilty of intentional murder on 29 April 2018 at the Central Criminal Court of Omdurman.

Noura Hussein was married against her will to Abdulrahman Mohamed Hammad at the age of 16. The first marriage ceremony involved the signing a marriage contract between her father and Abdulrahman. The second part of the marriage ceremony took place in April 2017, when she was forced to move into Abdulrahman’s home upon having completed high school. When she refused to consummate the marriage, Abdulrahman invited two of his brothers and a male cousin to help him rape her. Sudanese law allows children over the age of 10 to marry.

Angela, a refugee from South Sudan, was six months pregnant when she was raped while her children sat petrified under the bed. We met Angela on a trip to refugee settlements in northern Uganda in September 2017. She is amongst many women and girls who were brutally raped and gang raped in Yei, Morobo, Lainya and elsewhere in the Equatoria region of South Sudan in 2016 and 2017.

“At the time, we could hear gun shots and everyone was running so I ran with all of my children and we hid under the bed. They [the soldiers] came with guns banging on the door saying: “get out of the house, get out of the house” and then they broke down the door. I was pregnant. Immediately, they entered and one of them started removing his clothes and raping me…They told me: “we will do bad things to you whether you are woman, or if we find your husband, we will sleep with him in front of you, you will see!”

SEXUAL VIOLENCE CONTINUES

Today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, which signifies solidarity with survivors of conflict-related sexual violence around the world and recognizes those fighting to end impunity for such violence. But, despite the significant progress that has been made in efforts to eradicate sexual violence in wartime and provide justice for survivors of these horrific crimes, the fight is far from over. Sexual violence continues to be perpetrated by parties to conflicts around the globe, including in Nigeria and Iraq.

South Sudan is no exception. Yet, there continues to be a limited appreciation about the scale and extent of sexual violence violations there. Sexual violence has been widespread since the conflict started almost 5 years ago on 15 December 2013. Thousands upon thousands of women, men and children have been subjected to rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, sexual mutilation, torture, castration and forced nudity at the hands of both government and opposition forces with complete impunity.

Rachel, another refugee from South Sudan, told us about how she was gang raped by government soldiers before fleeing for neighbouring Uganda. Since arriving in the refugee settlement, she gave birth to a child she conceived as a result of the rape.

These shocking crimes have continued unabated. Between February and November 2017 154 cases of sexual violence were identified in the capital city, Juba and surrounding areas, some of which involved women having had their ears and fingers removed. Just this April, there were reports of gang rapes and abductions of women and girls in fighting between government and opposition forces in parts of Unity State.

They told me: “we will do bad things to you whether you are woman, or if we find your husband, we will sleep with him in front of you, you will see!”

Angela, Kiryandongo refugee settlement, northern Uganda in September 2017: „It is not just women and girls who are subjected to sexual violence. We have found evidence of sexual violence against men and boys in South Sudan, including rape, castration and torture, with men rendered especially vulnerable when in custody and detention. Children have also been forced to watch their mothers and other family members raped in front of them, compounding the already dire mental health crisis where UNICEF estimates that 900,000 children are in need of psychological support and rehabilitation.“

DEMANDS FOR JUSTICE

But South Sudanese civilians are not giving up hope. Survivors of sexual violence in South Sudan repeatedly told us during research in 2017 that they wanted justice. Many people that we spoke to saw accountability as a prerequisite to ending vicious cycles of violence where the failure to address past abuses becomes a significant driver of renewed violence.

Unfortunately, South Sudanese leaders have continuously failed to make good on their past promises to improve access to justice and to hold those responsible to account. With the shortcomings in the domestic legal system, which has been razed by nearly five years of war, the Hybrid Court for South Sudan provided for by the August 2015 Agreement for the Resolution of the Crisis in South Sudan represents the most viable option for achieving the justice that South Sudanese survivors of sexual violence want and deserve.

Yet, despite the development of a Memorandum of Understanding and Statute for the court’s establishment in 2017, the South Sudan government has been dragging its feet on providing the signature needed for its creation. This signals to those responsible for sexual violence crimes that there will be no consequences for their actions, contributing to the continuation of abuses.

The absence of sustainable peace does not excuse injustice for conflict-related sexual violence and the government of South Sudan must heed to the calls for accountability from their own citizens. Survivors like Angela and Rachel have the right to redress.

The South Sudan government should show its commitment to the thousands of women, men and children who have been subjected to gross violations of human rights and act immediately to establish the Hybrid Court. South Sudanese civilians deserve genuine accountability for the crimes and suffering they have endured for almost five years. It is high-time that the government exercise political will and join the global fight to end impunity for conflict-related sexual crimes.

Gatwich, 34, was arrested by the South Sudan Military Intelligence Directorate in the aftermath of the July 2016 clashes in Juba and detained at the Gorom Military Base, 20Km south of Juba. During his initial arrest and interrogation, he was beaten and pierced with a dull knife. In detention, the ill-treatment continued.

Speaking to Amnesty International in December 2017, just after his release, he said: “In Gorom, you cannot talk. When we were heard talking, we are brought out, beaten and tortured. They used logs, bamboo sticks and belts for the beatings. If they decided to kill you, they will put a nail in your head, and make the rest of us watch.”

But Gatwich is not alone. He is amongst hundreds of people, mostly men, who have been arbitrarily arrested and detained by the National Security Service and the Military Intelligence Directorate since the conflict started in December 2013.

Another ex-detainee 49-year-old Joseph, reflecting on his life before two years of detention, told us: “You cannot talk about before. That’s why people are dying in the sea in Italy. I cannot even send US$50 so my family can eat. The stresses that I have are (from) not being able to support my family. It is better for one to die.”

Some detainees have died in custody as a result of abuses, ill-treatment and lack of medical services. Others, like Gatwich and Joseph, struggle to get the medical and psychological care they desperately need to get back to normal life. Most former detainees have difficulties rebuilding their broken lives.

“Before detention, my life was okay. There was no problem. But since I was detained – I was there for three years and two months – life has become difficult. When they arrested me, they went to my house and took everything. I was released and found nothing. Now I can’t afford to put the kids in school and pay rent. I cannot look for jobs because they took my documents when they arrested me, and my health is also not good,” said 32-year-old Moses.

The survivors spoke of how they often wondered whether they would ever make it out of detention alive, whether they would ever see their families again. Now they are free but live each day on edge with lingering fears of being re-arrested.

“I used to move freely without fear but now I have no protection and I am sure they are still following us to see whether their accusations against us are true. Most of us are traumatized; we need trauma healing,” said David, another 49-year-old another detainee, released in 2017 after three years in detention.

In addition to considerable mental anguish, a number described problems with their eyesight, they complained of high blood pressure, difficulty walking, among other medical conditions they contracted, or were aggravated by the cramped, unsanitary conditions in detention.

Due to inadequate healthcare in South Sudan, where even primary health care for the general populace is provided by NGOs, former detainees are not able to get the medical or psychological attention they need, and are entitled to.

Availability of and accessibility to mental health and psycho-social support services is extremely limited in South Sudan. Juba Teaching Hospital – the only public medical facility that provides psychiatric care – had capacity for only 12 patients as of July 2016. The country has very few practising psychiatrists.

While some NGOs provide support to released detainees, there is a general absence of tailored support for victims. Men are particularly disadvantaged. Although Amnesty International has documented that men are also subjected to sexual and gender-based violence, particularly when in custody, there are hardly any specialised health and support services for male victims.

Prolonged arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment have caused physical and psychological harm to hundreds. The South Sudan government must put an end to these violations, and ensure victims receive full reparation, including compensation for physical and psychological harm, and rehabilitation. The Government also must conduct independent, impartial investigations into reports of torture and prosecute those responsible in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty.

While the primary responsibility for the care of ex-detainees lies with the government, national and international NGOs have also a role to play by ensuring that their programmes cater to the full range of violations experienced by victims of South Sudan’s conflict, including prolonged and arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, sexual and gender-based violence. Mental and psychological health interventions should be mainstreamed to become part of the standard healthcare package provided in South Sudan in view of the on-going crisis.

Joan Nyanyuki is the Amnesty International Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes

Human rights activist and prisoner of conscience Husham Ali Mohammad Ali must be released from detention in Khartoum immediately and unconditionally, Amnesty International said today. Husham Ali was deported from Saudi Arabia this week, arrested upon arrival in Sudan and detained at the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) headquarters.

“Having been a courageous political and online activist against torture and corruption Husham Ali is at great risk of torture and other ill-treatment while in the hands of the NISS. Pending his release, he must be granted unfettered access to a lawyer of his choice and to his family,” said Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

Husham Ali was arrested by the Saudi Arabian authorities in November 2017 and held in solitary confinement until January 2018, when he was moved to shared cell. In March 2018, he was moved from Dhaban prison to Al Shumaisi detention centre, an immigration centre outside Jeddah.

Amnesty International immediately raised alarm on his impending deportation asking the government of Saudi Arabia not to return him to Sudan, where he would be at risk of arrest, torture and other ill-treatment because of his human rights work. He was deported to Sudan on 29 May 2018.

“For at least the second time in two years, Saudi Arabia has violated with impunity the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits nations from returning individuals to countries where they would face risk of human rights violations or abuses,” said Joan Nyanyuki.

Amnesty International continues to call on the Sudanese authorities to urgently ratify the Convention against Torture and repeal or substantially amend all laws, especiallythe National Security Act (NSA) 2010, which foster the horrendous violation of human rights.

Background

Husham Ali worked as a freelance accountant in Saudi Arabia, where he has resided since 2010 after immigrating for work purposes. He also wrote articles for various online forums. A political activist of many years, he took to online platforms in 2013 to expose government corruption.

He also published on torture in detention by the Sudanese authorities and expressed his support for acts of civil disobedience carried out during November and December 2016 in Sudan on his Facebook page.

Amnesty International documented in 2016 and 2017 the detention of three other Sudanese activists residing in Saudi Arabia; Elgassim Mohammed Seed Ahmed, 52, Elwaleed Imam Hassan Taha, 44, and Alaa Aldin al-Difana. They were arrested in Saudi Arabia in December 2016, for their online support to civil disobedience actions in Sudan in November and December 2016.

The three activists were deported to Sudan on 11 July 2017, and were also arrested upon arrival by the National Intelligence and Service Services (NISS) and held at the NISS headquarters in Khartoum North.

The NISS released Elwaleed Imam Hassan Taha and Alaa Aldin al-Difana on 22 August 2017 without a charge. Elgassim Mohamed Seed Ahmed remained in detention until he was released without a charge on 3 October 2017. They told Amnesty International that they had been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment during detention.